Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a jumping structure of a display device and method for fabricating the same.
Discussion of the Related Art
Various display devices such as liquid crystal display devices, plasma display panels and organic light emitting display devices have been developed.
In these display devices, a jumping structure is typically used to electrically connect signal lines with each other that are formed on different layers, whereby the same data can be applied to the signal lines.
Hereinafter, a general jumping structure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a jumping structure according to the related art, especially illustrating a jumping structure formed in a pad region of a display device.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the display device having a jumping structure according to the related art, a first line 12 is patterned on a substrate 10, and an insulating film 14 is formed on an entire surface of the substrate 10 including the first line 12. At this time, the insulating film 14 is provided with a first contact hole CH1 for partially exposing the first line 12. A second line 16 is patterned on the insulating film 14, and a passivation film 18 is formed on an entire surface of the insulating film 14 including the second line 16. At this time, the passivation film 18 is provided with a second contact hole CH2 for partially exposing the second line 16. A connection electrode 20, which is formed on the passivation film 18, is electrically connected with the first line 12 through the first contact hole CH1 and the second line 16 through the second contact hole CH2. The first line 12 and the second line 16, which are formed on their respective layers that are different from each other, are electrically connected with each other through the connection electrode 20.
However, when forming the jumping structure as shown in FIG. 1, the second line 16 is also subject to an etching condition during the process of forming the first and second contact holes CH1, CH2 in the passivation film 18 to expose the second line 16, whereby the morphology of the second line 16 is worsened. In addition, the morphology of the second line 16 may already have been deteriorated during the previous etching process for forming a drain contact hole (not shown). That is, the morphology of the second line 16 may be affected by two etching processes, namely the etching process for forming the drain contact hole and the etching process for forming the second contact hole CH2. This may lead to a problem in that an undercut, which is illustrated in FIG. 2, occurs due to the deterioration of morphology of the second line 16. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, such an undercut may create a region on the second line 16 where the connection electrode 20 is opened.